As Ireland faces what leaders are calling an “epidemic” of domestic violence, the Government has proposed a series of legal reforms aimed at better protecting women from abusive partners. These include the creation of a national domestic abuse register, restrictions on the use of counselling notes in court, changes to who is removed from the family home, and critical amendments to the Guardianship of Infants Act.
The changes follow the release of Women’s Aid’s 2024 annual report, which documented the highest number of abuse disclosures in its 50-year history. It revealed sharp increases across all categories of abuse. Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan acknowledged that more decisive legislative action is needed—especially reforms that do not place the burden on victims to change their lives in order to feel safe.
A Domestic Abuse Register: Prevention Before Protection
The Irish Examiner reports that one of the most significant proposals is the introduction of a domestic abuse register. Similar to the sex offenders register, it would allow certain individuals—such as Gardaí, family court officials, and possibly concerned family members or new partners—to be alerted if someone has a documented history of domestic abuse.
The rationale behind the register is rooted in prevention. Survivors, campaigners, and advocates have long argued that women often enter relationships unaware of a partner’s abusive past. By making this information accessible in a controlled and legally sound manner, the Government hopes to help women make more informed decisions and reduce repeat cycles of abuse.
The urgency is clear in cases like Marc Masterton in the UK—jailed for coercive control for a second time, despite having already served time for abusing Chloe Holland, who later died by suicide, following years of abuse. His reoffending highlights the urgent need for early-warning systems to prevent serial abusers from harming again.
While the exact scope and eligibility criteria for access are still under consideration, the register marks an important step toward placing accountability on the perpetrator, not the survivor.
Protecting the Therapeutic Space
Another central reform targets the controversial practice of using a survivor’s counselling notes as evidence in criminal trials. Under current rules, these highly personal notes—often recorded by therapists or support services—can be subpoenaed by defence teams, leading to re-traumatisation and discouraging victims from seeking help.
The proposed changes to the Sexual Offences Act would mean such notes could only be used in court if excluding them would result in an unfair trial. This is seen as a critical step in safeguarding the therapeutic process and reassuring survivors that speaking to a counsellor won’t be turned against them in court.
Removing the Abuser, Not the Victim
A common pattern in domestic abuse cases is the expectation that the victim must leave the family home to secure their safety—usually a woman and her children—while the abuser remains. In many cases, this means uprooting children from school, losing access to jobs, or even becoming homeless due to a lack of refuge spaces.
Minister O’Callaghan has committed to a new principle: that the abuser, not the victim, should be the one removed from the home.
“It should not be the case that the first instinct and the first port of call when a woman is subjected to domestic abuse in her home is that we ask how we can find another place for that woman to live,” Mr O’Callaghan said [via Irish Examiner]. “The response should be around how we can get the abuser out of the home.”
While this is undoubtedly the right approach, it represents a significant shift from how domestic violence cases have historically been addressed. Enforcing it will require stronger legal tools—particularly so Gardaí and courts can act swiftly to protect survivors without making them shoulder the fallout of their partner’s violence.
Guardianship of Infants Act: Preventing Post-Separation Harm
Another key legal reform in the works is an amendment to the Guardianship of Infants Act. This change is being driven by cases in which a father who has killed the child’s mother continues to retain parental rights or guardianship over that child. Unbelievably, under the current law, there is no automatic revocation of parental responsibility, even in the case of femicide.
The proposed amendments aim to rectify this by ensuring that the surviving family—usually maternal relatives—can be granted guardianship more easily and without the traumatic legal hurdles currently required.
A Welcome Step—But Not Without Gaps
While these legislative moves have been broadly welcomed by advocacy groups and opposition leaders, there are ongoing concerns about implementation. Labour leader Ivana Bacik pointed out that nearly half of the women who contacted Gardaí in the past year described the response as “unhelpful,” according to a recent survey.
Laws are only effective when frontline services are properly trained, resourced, and willing to act. Without meaningful change in how Gardaí and family courts respond to domestic abuse allegations, even the strongest laws may fall short of their promise.
Featured image: Domestic abuse victim reports to the police. Source: Photographee.eu / Adobe Stock.
